


Of forgotten vessels and broken nails

by vesselsofhallownest



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Game)
Genre: Big Bugs AU, Death, Dissection, Gen, Minor Character Death, Sugery without Anaesthesia, THK is referred to as Eiodolon, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2020-01-07 06:12:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 14,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18404753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vesselsofhallownest/pseuds/vesselsofhallownest
Summary: A collection of drabbles centered around the Pale King's Children, as well as bugs from the universe of Hollow Knight.Feel free to send me your characters to be added into stories.





	1. The Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter:  
> Slightly graphic depictions of death.
> 
> The Wyrm observes his creations.

The Wyrm sits in his, workshop, of a sorts. Scattered around are the old molds that were used for the guards within his palace, as well as a tinier mold, for something worthless, _but his subjects like them, so they stay_.  
He turns the shell of one of the failed prototype vessels — _his children_ — in his claws, inspecting it for any physical flaws, he’s done this thousands of times. And yet, he can never seem to perfect them. Perhaps the next clutches that hatch out of thousands will contain what he needs.  
The Root, quietly walks up to him, not wanting him to startle and drop the shell.  
She taps him on the shoulder, catching his attention as he sets the shell onto his table.  
“My Root, do you need something?” he asks, looking over his creation, before turning to face her.  
“Your plan to conceal the Radiance, my Wyrm. I would not doubt you, but, are you sure that this would be the only way? I trust you, but I can’t help but worry.. what if your plan does not go the way you predict?” Replied the Root, holding her head within her hand, looking directly at him.  
“I have looked into every possible future, and calculated for any mistakes. If this fails, it will be nothing but my own fault.”  
With that, his lady exits, presumably leaving towards her gardens. He turns back to the shell, wondering if he’s made the right choices, he is sacrificing his children, all in the name of preserving his stolen kingdom.  
But, they cannot be his children, at least, _not anymore_. Their carapaces are jet black, not the same as his white. Mindless, voiceless beings. Nothing more than a means to an end. He stretches, the cloth of his robe falling down his arms. He takes one more glance around his room, and briefly wonders what could’ve been, but he carries on with his task.  
Opening the door to the Abyss, the Wyrm steps onto the stone ledge that overlooks the shrouded void. He can see the cracked shells and bodies of vessels that died. The pile has grown taller, with vessels falling to their deaths on top, and hatching below their siblings, before being crushed to death.  
His eyes are drawn to several vessels that fall from their perches upon the doors opening, plummeting and landing with a sickening crunch. _Only the strongest will survive this_ , that much he knows. He did not express doubts to his lady, as every single vessel had failed so far.  
That’s when he spots them, a vessel clawing and crawling their way up to the platform on which he stands. They’re nearly at the top now, turning their head as he stares into them, judging their every move. He knows, that if they react to him in any other way, that they must be thrown back into the Abyss, never to see the outside world.  
The Wyrm stands up straight, gazing down at them, with wings flaring. His eyes are challenging, but if the vessel feels anything, they don’t show it. Instead, they are startled by his sudden movements, and lose their grip, before falling back into the void from which they hatched.  
He sighs, “Another failure, as expected.” and turns away, before walking through the doors and sealing them tight once more.


	2. Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hornet meets a human. Big Bugs AU drabble.

Life had continued as normal in Hallownest. Despite the total destruction of the infection, the kingdom had much to be rebuilt.  
Hornet, along with her siblings, had spent much of the week helping previously infected bugs return to normal, and moving them into Dirtmouth, after addressing the current residents, of course.  
But, as calming as it was to finally have down time from the constant, looming threat of that blinding light, the kingdom would not run itself.

As Hornet continued her task of rebuilding and killing any bugs that still carry the infection. While she was traversing the Howling Cliffs, she heard footsteps, not unusual, if you counted the native bugs that live in the area, but these were much heavier than that.

She stood still, carefully listening to the location of the footsteps, before leaping up, narrowly avoiding the sight of whatever creature made that noise and landing on a small overhang.  
Unfortunately for her, the noise of her leaping into the air had caught the attention of the little creature, now staring right up at her.

Seeing that she’s been spotted, Hornet sighs and drops from her perch, landing in front of the creature, startling them back a few steps.

This thing, whatever it is, is most certainly not a bug, not one she’s ever seen that is. Lacking the typical mask and black limbs, without any sort of defense, and the most ridiculous clothing she’d ever seen.

She was several times larger than them, with them not even cutting close to being as tall as her knee. They do not share the symptoms common with those infected, but she keeps her needle close in the event they are hostile.

She looks down, directly into their eyes, before they look directly back, straighten up and give her a small wave.


	3. Lost Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elderbug is injured. Big Bugs AU story.  
> Acksi belongs to RevTheRevenant on Tumblr.

Elderbug stands in his usually place, slightly off the path in Dirtmouth. He was quite worried fiddling with his claws, he hadn’t seen Acksi for weeks which was worrying, given their reputation for sleeping on the bench in town the majority of the time.

A few weeks ago, Acksi had gone on an adventure with a few of the other humans, they hadn’t returned since then, all of them had gone missing. Now normally, the bug wouldn’t have been worried, because this usually meant they went to stay with a harder to reach bug, but asking around had yielded nothing of their whereabouts.

He looked towards the old well, hearing the noise of someone climbing it, and he expected it to be one of the bugs who regularly go exploring. Instead, it was a familiar figure. They looked like Acksi, yet somehow different, off-putting even.  
They walked forward, onto the path, before stopping near him, and staring.

“Acksi, what happened to you?” Speaks the bug, concern evident in his voice, “We were all worried sick!.”

There was no response, only a blank, emotionless stare, devoid of life.  
“Oh dear, we need to get you to someone who knows what to do.” Elderbug says, before trying to pick up Acksi. Suddenly, a sharp pain slices through his abdomen, like something had cut him.

Elderbug falls backwards, hitting the ground, hissing in pain as the slice in his abdomen bled.  
Acksi slowly looks toward him, his blood soaked into her blanket, before turning around and heading back towards the well.  
Fortunately for him, Iselda heard the ruckus, and rushed out to help him.


	4. Extinguish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two opposing forces meet, and only once comes out unscathed.  
> After all, only the cold dark can extinguish the burning light.

Finn wandered the darkness of the Ancient Basin, once the location for the White Palace, which had laid in shambles for as long as he could remember. Recently, a bright, white light had plagued his dreams, until it was submerged in the inky depths of what had become of his mind.

Sometimes, shreds of memories seeped through the tattered threads of his mind, the longer he spent down here, the more he lost. Some of his memories were of a red cloaked figure, a sharp needle that was always by their side.

The figure was so familiar, like family, but none of that matter to him anymore. That ancient light was back, and it needed to be destroyed. So, he tracked it, day after day, following that light, until it lead him to someone else.

They weren’t the source of that burning light, but it afflicted them all the same, and it burned into his soul. So, Finn did the only thing his tattered mind could think of, unsheathe the needle at his side, and charged. They reacted quickly, shrieking before leaping back.

They whipped around, before flinging their arm out, scattering that light across the ground, some of it hitting the remains of Finn’s leg. He screams in pain, the light _burnt_.

Finn stands up straight, before leaping, and charging directly towards them, but before hitting the ground, shove their needle in the ground, landing just a foot away. The other hisses, garbled by the infection that leaks from under their mask, and launches more of that light. Finn reacted quickly, leaping to the side, before extending his needle, and finally driving it into their chest.   
That light sputtered, as they screamed and spasmed, before falling limp. Finn pulled his weapon out, hissing as that light followed, before watching the body fall to the ground. He turns around, off to seek that brighter light.

 

 


	5. Memories Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sunlight searches for Radiance’s adopted child, what she finds is something terrifying.

It had been days since Corona had left to survey the so called ‘Infected humans’. Sunlight and Radiance had been worried sick, this was supposed to take only a day a most. 

Eventually, Sunny had enough. They packed a small bag with food, in case Corona had gotten herself lost somewhere, and they grabbed their walking stick. With that, they flew off the cliff, and into the Crystal Peaks. 

For the first hour, they scoured the entireity of the area, not locating any sign that Corona had gotten lost within the mine. So, they left, heading down into the Resting Grounds. Once more, no signs of her. 

Finally, while Sunlight had been searching the Waterways, not a pleasant place to be, but if they were to find Corona, they’d have to put up with it. They found a single scrap of her cape that had been caught on a broken sign pole.   
As Sunlight traveled further down, they kept finding more scraps of cloth, until they finally reached a door, engraved with the brand of a king. Suprisingly, the seal was deactivated, and all it took was a push from their hand to open it. 

The cold, creeping darkness was near overwhelming. But they had to push on for Corona and Radiance. The platforms were sparse, covered in broken and cracked shells. 

Sunlight finally reached the bottom, claws cracking the mountain of shells that laid on the floor of the pit. They headed for a lighthouse, ancient and falling apart. As the walked forward, they felt a crawling sensation of dread, until the reached the bridge with the viscous black substances lapping at it’s sides.   
They walked further, and further, until they saw a small crouching figure, and Sunlight recognizing those faded, formerly bright colours. They moved swiftly, until they were close enough to scoop that figure up into their claws. 

“Oh Corona, what happened to you?” They asked, turning her over in their hands, choking back tears as they saw that black, blank stare. The brightness that filled her eyes now extinguished.   
Corona could only stare back blankly up at them. Sunlight cried, before tucking Corona into the small pack, and heading back up to tell Radiance what they had found. 


	6. Mother Knows Best

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The infection grows stronger as time passes.  
> This time, the light overpowers that seeping darkness.

Finn still tracked that light. Even after his first encounter, he hadn’t seen any others, and yet, the light grew brighter still.   
Eventually, it lead him to a place, one he could recall, the home of that red-cloaked figure.   
His former… home? It sounded right, but didn’t, as well.   
It was hard to navigate the area, with only one leg. The constant pitfalls and webbing made it hard to follow.   
As he walked, he knew he was further in to the area, if only because memories long faded came back vividly, enough to burn. Though at least it wasn’t that blinding light. 

Eventually, he reached what appeared to be a village, strung high in the area by sturdy, thick webs. He wasn’t sure what possessed him to try and take the climb, but climb he did. Those extra limbs helped, being able to grip into the smallest gaps between stones, and walk across the webbed walls. 

Finn ran into a small gap within the wall, the sides covered in that horrible orange substance. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to go inside, but something compelled him to, almost as if he was forced. The further he stepped, the brighter that orange light became, until he was in a large clearing. In front of him, was a large corpse, with weapons strewn around it. 

And in front of that figure, with their backed turned, was that same red cloaked bug, caked in that light. A needle held at their side. Finn debated on catching their attention, trying to recall that name, who they were to him. Why they held so much significance. 

“H͜͠o͝r̕n̴҉et̵͘͠?̨” he spoke, softly with his broken voice. 

The figure turned to face him, slowly. That wasn’t who he remembered to be Hornet, she was changed, that light had consumed her.   
She looked down at him, before taking a step forward, and another. Until she stood right in front of him.   
He leaped back as some of the pustules dripped onto the ground, hissing slightly. 

That was the wrong move. 

The sudden movement from Finn made Hornet react, and while he managed to get a sizable cut into her leg, he didn’t get out of the way in time enough when she made that killing blow.   
Finn, impaled on the needle, breaths growing shallower with each one he took, black tears streaming down his mask. 

“̧I'̷̡͡m̨͠ ̷̨s̴or̷r͢͜y." Finn spoke, to no one in particular. With that, he drew his last breath.

Hornet watched as Finn slumped, before sliding off of her needle. The shards of her mind trying to piece together an emotion. All that registered was more of that peaceful, beautiful light running down her cracked shell.


	7. Dream Once More

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the infection rises once more, the dreamers must make a decision

The king had called upon them once more, and as such, the Dreamers had gathered in the throne room of the palace.

The king stood from his throne. “Dreamers,” he addressed, dipping his head in acknowledgment, “I am sure you know why I have called you here. The Old Light has returned again, in full force. While this is not surprising, as of late it has been growing stronger.” The king walked down from his throne to stand in front of them.

“And why would this concern us, Wyrm?” the Beast asked, staring pointedly down at him. “There has been enough grief caused by our eternal sleep.”

The king sighed, before looking down, “As I regret to inform you, Beast, the heir of Deepnest has been afflicted.”

The Beast, Herrah, straightened up. “I see, but what was the point of calling all three of us, and our apprentices, if you were to speak of my daughter?”

The king turns his back on them, “Come, follow me.” as he leads them down into his workshop.

“Dreamers are needed once more, but I cannot ask you, Monomon, Herrah, and Lurien to sacrifice yourselves once more. You are still recovering, and do not have the power to survive in eternal slumber.” He looks at their apprentices.

“Which is why I requested you bring your apprentices with you, for they share in power and can survive that eternal rest.” The king looks at the smaller 3, the apprentices of the Dreamers.

The king turns his back once more, before walking over to a shelf and picking up three, porcelain masks.  
The Wyrm walks over to the apprentices handing them the masks, before draping the blue cloth over their heads.

“There will be a short amount of time before the seals on these masks kick in, and you will be forced to sleep. I suggest you move quickly back to your homes.” spoke the king, before, fitting the masks into the holes in the cloth.


	8. Dream Once More

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the infection rises once more, the dreamers must make a decision

The king had called upon them once more, and as such, the Dreamers had gathered in the throne room of the palace.

The king stood from his throne. “Dreamers,” he addressed, dipping his head in acknowledgment, “I am sure you know why I have called you here. The Old Light has returned again, in full force. While this is not surprising, as of late it has been growing stronger.” The king walked down from his throne to stand in front of them.

“And why would this concern us, Wyrm?” the Beast asked, staring pointedly down at him. “There has been enough grief caused by our eternal sleep.”

The king sighed, before looking down, “As I regret to inform you, Beast, the heir of Deepnest has been afflicted.”

The Beast, Herrah, straightened up. “I see, but what was the point of calling all three of us, and our apprentices, if you were to speak of my daughter?”

The king turns his back on them, “Come, follow me.” as he leads them down into his workshop.

“Dreamers are needed once more, but I cannot ask you, Monomon, Herrah, and Lurien to sacrifice yourselves once more. You are still recovering, and do not have the power to survive in eternal slumber.” He looks at their apprentices.

“Which is why I requested you bring your apprentices with you, for they share in power and can survive that eternal rest.” The king looks at the smaller 3, the apprentices of the Dreamers.

The king turns his back once more, before walking over to a shelf and picking up three, porcelain masks.  
The Wyrm walks over to the apprentices handing them the masks, before draping the blue cloth over their heads.

“There will be a short amount of time before the seals on these masks kick in, and you will be forced to sleep. I suggest you move quickly back to your homes.” spoke the king, before, fitting the masks into the holes in the cloth.


	9. Lost and Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aliam searches for the lost voidling, and after he finds them, witnesses something alarming.

Aliam had been traveling quite a long time, not surprising, given the size of a kingdom compared to a human. Not to mention the large jar he carried behind him, why the king didn’t send one of his courtiers to help him, Aliam wasn’t sure.  
Perhaps it was because over time, the voidlings had gotten used to him and no longer lashed out when he came near. He slung off his bag and pulled out a map, how useful this ‘charm’ was, showing him exactly where he was located.

Just a bit longer and he’d be near the closest Stag Station that he could use. The king hadn’t bothered to update the Palace station, so anytime a human needed to come and go they’d need to walk all the way into the City of Tears.  
Perhaps the king was too busy to update it, maybe not, but either way Aliam would speak to him about it.

Aliam continued forwards, climbing and leaping onto anything to make this a bit quicker. As he traveled, he saw the dilapidated memorial that stood at the center of the city,

“In the Black Vault far above. Through it’s sacrifice Hallownest lasts eternal. Seems that didn’t turn out too well for the king, given that he is now in the process of needing to rebuild this damned kingdom.   
Still, what a foreboding message, especially to have in the middle of a bustling city.” He remarked, before continuing on.

The western half of the city was in an awful state, cramped together homes which couldn’t even keep out the constant rain. A sorry place to live in if Aliam had ever seen one.  
He passed by the guards that still roamed the streets, even the time they spent infected couldn’t deter them from doing their jobs. But, finally he had reached the first lift he needed to take, hitting the smaller switch installed for his fellow humans to head up.  
He repeated this several times, admiring the view of the city from the frosted glass the protected the building’s interior.

At last, the station’s doorway was in front of him and he walked in to ring the bell made for passengers carrying cargo. Somehow, the residents had managed to enchant these bells to ring tunes unique to each bell, and it soon had one of the heftier stags raced into the building.

Aliam nodded at the stag, before using a bit of the ‘magic’ he had learned during his time in the court to lift the large jar into the wagon, before hopping into the saddlebags that sat on the stag’s side.

“I need to head into the Crossroads, if you can bring me there with haste.” Spoke Aliam, before leaning back into the saddlebag, lest he fall.  
The stag grunted, before taking off into the tunnels.  
It took about half an hour to get there, avoiding the other stags who ran people place to place. At last, he had arrived at his destination.

He began carrying the jar, exiting the station and making his way further in. That was, until he noticed the black puddles that littered the stone pathways, growing larger in size as he went, and he set his jar down, before following the path. But not before scanning the area for something to set as bait.  
While he wasn’t sure of the habits from voidlings, perhaps given their natural adversion to the light of the infection, something characterized by orange eyes, they’d go after something afflicted. So he spent a few moments looking around until he spotted a crawlid, covered in pustules with eyes that seeped that light.

As he went on, the path of void became mixed with, another substance. This one coloured bright orange, with hints of red tainting it. Blood perhaps, but those puddles of void sat far away from them, as if repelled by some outside force.  
The red lessened as he walked and he eventually started hearing footsteps, as the puddles became smaller and smaller. Finally, he found the source, a human donning a blanket stained with spots of pitch black. Perhaps this was the voidling he had been searching for.  
For now, he decided to tail them, seeing where this path lead and what they seemed to be tracking. As they walked further along, the sound of chitin on stone, running, got louder and louder.

They finally came across a bug, a very big one at that, seemingly carrying something, that source of the sickly sweet orange substance littering the ground. The voidling he had been tracking began to speed up, seemingly ready to attack either the bug or whatever they were holding, he didn’t care.

The voidling lashed out, sharp tendrils of void slicing into the red carapace that covered the bug, it didn’t do much damage, asides from a tiny non-threatening crack. But it was enough to catch the attention of the bug, who looked over their should, before moving faster.  
Aliam decided to interfere at that moment, no use in losing a voidling during a ‘hunt’, something he’d need to write down once he returned. In order not to startle them, he gently tapped their shoulder, getting their attention.

“Come on, we need to get back to the Palace. The king has been awaiting your arrival.” He spoke, softly. Before turning around and walking off, pausing every so often to make sure they still followed him.  
Finally, he made his way back to the jar, before taking the lid off, revealing the crawlid he had found on his search.

As soon as they went after that, he sealed the jar once more before setting off to the station and taking it back to the Palace.

“Your Highness, I have found and retrieved the voidling.” He gestures behind him, before moving off to the side to reveal the contents of the jar.


	10. Dance of Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Death and Violence
> 
> Xander strays from the cliffs in search of an all consuming darkness that has taken the form of an old friend.

That bright light had consumed another human lost to it’s glamour. While they were still conscious they had wandered far off from their home, not wanting their adopted parent to see them in their worsening state.

It didn’t take long for their mind to deteriorate, to just barely having thoughts of their own. Sometimes they think of home, of the small of amount of family they had, before that light wiped them away.  
One day however, something forced them to stray from their usual hiding place, something darker than night, all consuming.

They traveled far, making their way into twisting and winding paths, until they had found what they were looking for.  
The darkness reached out, grasping at the gorgeous light they housed inside them. They responded in turn, stalking forward, ready to pounce on the prey they had tracked for hours.

That was, until the other turned around and attacked. Despite the size of the nail in comparison to their body, they were quite nimble, avoiding those dark tendrils, until they eventually got a strike in.  
Clean and deep, they slashed their nail at the other’s chest, flinging them backwards.

The other hissed and grasped at their chest, falling to their knees, slowly bleeding to death.  
Xander heaved their nail over their shoulder, hissing slightly in pain as blood dripped into the glowing pustules on their shoulder, not to mention the weight of their weapon.

They walked forward, preparing to cleanly kill the other, bearing the weight on their shoulders. But as soon as they got close, faster than their addled mind could process, a black tendril lashed out at them, spearing them through the chest.

The suddeness caused them to fall forwards, their nail following, before it tears through the shoulder of the other, cleaning slicing their arm off.

Xander’s mind cleared as they died, memories flashing through their mind, the weight of theirs regrets almost as heavy — heavier perhaps — than their nail.

And with that, the two died.


	11. Dying Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sunlight returns with the emotionless Corona, and the Radiance’s emotions break through their barrier

Sunlight had been gone for awhile, searching for Corona. Radiance feared the worse, Corona could’ve gotten badly injured, and Sunny hurt keeping them safe.  
But, she had to be positive. Sunlight could just be on their way, with her starlight in tow. For now, she stared into the endless, golden sky that covered the tops of the mountain she stood on.

 

Radiance began to daydream, of her old life as the ruler of Hallownest.  
The Moth Tribe worshiped her, and as such she had granted them the gift to enter the dream realm. At least until that blasted king had arrived.  
He destroyed all of what she had worked towards, before driving her up into the mountain peaks with her only remaining statue.

And eventually, as she began to finally return to the kingdom that had long forgotten her. He began plotting, using his own children as a means to an end. Without care for them, he found one he had judged to be perfect, before sealing them in that dark temple.  
And when he had driven her down from the cliffs, he sliced through the realm of reality and dreams before pushing her through, and into the mind of his poor child.

She had struggled in her bonds before she managed to break free, tearing through the kingdom like an unending storm.  
Her thoughts were interrupted by a tap on her shoulder, and she looked down to see Sunlight cradling Corona in their arms.

“I have returned, dear light. Corona was in a peculiar spot, but I am afraid that the news on her condition is not good.” They spoke, softly as if their voice would disturb the sleeping human.

“Tell me, what happened to them? Why were they missing for so long?”  
Radiance shuffled impatiently, nervous for the news that Sunlight had brought.

“I, found them hidden in that dark cavern. They were covered in the same thing that made up the sea there. I don’t think she’s the same anymore,” Sunlight said, moving Corona’s hair from their eyes, revealing the same, lifeless eyes of the vessels, black and emotionless.

Radiance gently took Corona from Sunlight, and she began to cry, sobbing harder to more she looked over her starlight.


	12. Family Tragedy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talya comes home infected one day, and Oro’s reflexes act before his own input. As such, he begins racing to Sly, the one who trained him for help.

Oro did not expect to get attacked when he entered the Crossroads, carrying Talya’s body as he ran.  
He especially did not think he would get attacked by a human, or at least, they were once human. For whatever reason, they had stopped after that first strike, and when he quickly looked over his shoulder to check, they were gone.

He turned back around, before continuing to run, he wasn’t going to slow down and risk the life of the human in his hands. The human had been afflicted with a disease he had thought long gone. His reflexes were faster than his own thoughts, and had struck them the moment he had seen those bright, orange pustules.  
So, he did the only thing that he could do, bring them to his teacher in Dirtmouth, and hope that he could do something to help them.

And that was when he saw the scene in front of him, he slowed down, almost stopping at the two bodies lying on the floor.  
One of them, he didn’t recognize, they had the same, strange black splotches over their arms as the one who had attacked him earlier.

The next body, was one he knew all too well.

His brothers had come to visit him one day, and with them they had brought the humans that they adopted. Mato, had introduced his, and had told Oro that the kids name was ‘Xander’.  
Looking at that body on the ground, he realized what had happened. There was obviously a fight, if the nail covered in that black substance was any indicator. On Xander’s body, however, was the fading orange pustules on their back and arms, seeming to be dying.

He couldn’t waste anymore time looking at the scene, he needed to get Talya to the village and possibly find a healer, and then he would come back to retrieve the bodies, and tell his brother the news.

He began to walk faster once more, finding the rope that headed up the well, before climbing out and heading into the shop.

“Master-’ The sage — Sly — looks up at him, inspected his orange covered hands, “I need your help.” Oro speaks, panicking slightly.

“And what would you need my help for? I’ve already taught you what I can.” The sage stands up, before walking forward, in front of the counter in the shop.

The Nailmaster doesn’t speak, instead lowering his arms and revealing the injured human he had been holding.

“Oh my. Follow me, you’re lucky that you got here as quickly as you did.” Sly walks past him, out the door, and down the street to one of the larger homes in the back.  
He entered one of the few homes that had the lights on, inside was one of the residents of the town with what looked to be one of the many spider residents from Deepnest. The spider was caught up in checking the bandages that covered their patients chest, but still noticed their entrance and spoke,

“Do you two need anything?” without even looking up, continuing to check the bandages before, deciding everything was okay.

“We have someone else who is injured.” The Sage speaks, nudging Oro’s leg so he could show them the human.  
The doctor turns around, and quickly glances over the human in his hands, before she picks them up gently, and ushers them out the door.

“This is a dire case, and I need to get started immediately.” With that the doctor quickly shuts the door.  
Oro and Sly leave the building, walking down the path before he stops,

“There is one more thing I need to tell you.” Sly looks at him, waiting for him to continue, “On my way here, I found two bodies, humans, one carried the infection with it and the other had patches of pitch black skin,” He took a breath before continuing, “I believe that the infected one was the kid that Mato had adopted. They had the same red armor that they wore when I last saw them.”

Sly looks down for a moment, before looking back up, “Oro, I realize that you two don’t get along very well, but you need to bring the humans body to Mato and tell him what happened.” Oro tried to speak, “And there will be no arguments about this. Go retrieve their body and visit your brother.”


	13. Try again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The light comes to take what was stolen from it, and takes much more than necessary

Today was as normal as any other day. Save for the rebounds of infection they had been experiences.

Eidolon had not expected Ghost to fall prey to the infection. Especially not after the Radiance had returned without her sickly light.

The three had been wandering around the basin, watching as the kings servants rebuilt the Palace Grounds and the areas around it. The small vessel seemed to be unnaturally tired, constantly falling asleep and almost falling out of their satchel several times.  
Eidolon had decided that it was time to take a break from their constant walking, and found a hidden spot to sit down and rest. When they awoke, Ghost had escaped their satchel, and was inching towards where they had set down their nail, back turned to the elder.

When they finally grasp the nail, they turn around. Bright, orange eyes with infection running through the crack in their shell. But strangely, they walk right past their sibling, and that’s when Eidolon takes a look in a nearby puddle.  
Slowly, but surely, that sickly orange glow was growing stronger seeping through the crack in their shell, they brought their hand up to their eye, and started weeping. This couldn’t happen again, not to them nor their sibling.

It wasn’t long before they were tearing the satchel off their body, trying to find a safe place away from them for Atlas to hide. It was too late for them, Eidolon could feel their mind slipping away, but not before they caught a glimpse of Ghost climbing the ledge where they sat Atlas, and striking once before they fell down.

Out of curiosity, Eidolon walked forward. What had the smaller one attacked. Sitting on the ledge, was an even smaller creature, clutching their sides, with red liquid that had been slowly turning to orange the longer they stared. Eventually, they figured that the satchel behind the creature was used to carry them.  
Before long they had strapped it around their neck and picked up the other to set them inside. Something was wrong, very wrong. They followed some sort of pull, that forced them to head deeper into the kingdom.

Until they came to the shattered remains of a door. That same force pulled them inside, until the jumped from the final platform, onto the shells that littered the floor.  
Their entrance alerted the willful souls of their former siblings who swarmed the three almost immediately. It wasn’t long before they were quickly overtaken, their weapons couldn’t even tear a hole into them before the two vessels were left as broken shells on the ground, their human laid against one, slowly dying.


	14. Metamorphosis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After his latest excursion, Aliam grows weary. At last, he becomes more than he used to be.

Aliam had recently returned from the Crossroads, the kings missing voidling finally returned to him. Lately, he had be exhausted, more than usual. He’d miss meetings between the other 5 court members and the king, or well 4, given that one had been cocooned for the past month.  
Eventually, he had just told the king that he wouldn’t be able to make it to any meetings due to his exhaustion, and that he would be resting more often.

Today was the 7th day he had spent in his room, looking over some of the documents that one of the servants had brought him for review.  
More plans for voidlings, organizing patrols to retrieve missing ones.  
Aliam was tired enough from the constant documents, reviewing and signing them, that he curled up into the blankets for a short nap.

He awoke sometime later, for whatever reason with an urge to climb something high up, something that wasn’t very difficult in the Palace.  
He slowly made his way up onto one of the many ledges in his room, decently high off the ground. Certainly not the highest he could climb, but it felt right.

Day after day he grew even more exhausted, and eventually, he started to build. He wasn’t quite sure what it was, too tired to process much of anything. It looked like some sort of pod, lavender in colour with red slits on the sides. After an hour or so, it was done.  
He was so, so tired. That he ended up crawling inside, before sealing it completely, and curling up to take a nap.

That wasn’t what happened. For Aliam, it seemed just like he had went to sleep, although something was changing with him, but he chalked it up to his own exhaustion.

And finally, a month later, he began to slowly split from his cocoon. Tearing at the bottom, gripping the sides of it with his legs.  
Unfortunately, his landing was less than spectacular, and he fell right on his face. It didn’t hurt very much, but he found it much harder to move.

He took a minute to examine himself, as his entire body felt so strange now.  
Looking down, he saw the new legs he had, bent and pointed, an odd sight.  
As for the rest of his body, well, it was long to say the least.  
Aliam struggled a bit until he managed to figure out how to curl himself up to properly examine the rest of him.

His body was a pale, light orange in colour, with a pink underside. He had another 2 sets of legs and his body ended in a tail adorned with fur the same colour as his hair.

Now, the trouble was, he should inform the king. But with his new body and legs, he was finding it hard to move.  
So, he decided to wait until someone came to check on him.


	15. A tale of two brothers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oro brings with him the news of the death of his brothers child.

Oro had ran straight from Dirtmouth into the Crossroads once more. Retrieving the body of his brother’s child was more difficult than expected, given their size and the fact that something had been shoved through their chest. After glancing over the scene once more, he decided to grab their nail and the body of the other human, before returning to the surface.   
He gently set the other down on of the clear patches in the graveyard, before heading up the lift into King’s Pass.

The lift raised slowly, owing to the fact that it was made for the humans to ride in. But soon enough he had reached the top ledge and headed through the gate to the kingdom.  
He wasn’t quite sure why his brother would’ve chosen to be shut off from the rest of the kingdom, given that there was no other way out from the cliffs besides the doors, something he pondered as he walked.

Navigating the pass was somewhat difficult, not being able to run through the area like he normally would when he was carrying the body, he didn’t want to risk dropping them and not being able to retrieve them.  
So, he took it slowly and carefully, sometimes he wasn’t able to help the movements he needed to make given the strange arrangement of the cave.

Finally, he reached the sheer drop from the cliffs into the pass, and began to search for a way up. He eventually spotted another lift, likely placed after the first few humans, and headed up.  
It was only a short walk from here, heading past the lamppost and down to the right would be his brothers hut, and Oro steeled himself for the conversation that surely was to come.

He slowly stepped inside the hut, to the little hall that held a bench. Carefully he placed the body on it, and prepared to enter the main room.

“Brother, there is something we need to talk about.” Mato looked up, about to speak but wasn’t given the chance, “I know we haven’t spoken in years, and didn’t end on the best terms, but this is extremely serious.”

Mato stood up, walking forward and motioning Oro to speak, “Go on then, tell me what news you bring.”

Oro took a deep breath before beginning, “It’s about your human, Xander, I believe they’re called. Talya was injured and as I was bringing her up to Dirtmouth, I found their body. They were on the ground, next to another human, covered in what looked like fading infection pustules.”

His brother looked at him, “Do you have their body? I’d like to see them one last time.”  
Oro turned around, and motioned for Mato to follow him into the small hallway. He moved to the left of the bench, gesturing to the body.  
His brother gently picked up Xander, and cradled them in his arms, inspecting the scars and wounds they had earned.

Then, he began to cry, tears rolling down his shell as he set the body back down, before turning to his brother and speaking, “Thank you for bringing them to me. I, I’m sorry for what happened in the past, hopefully we can get over our differences.”

Mato held out his hand, waiting for Oro to grasp it, before pulling him into a hug.

“Here, I wanted to give you this.” Oro says, before handing him the delicate flower he had received, alongside Xander’s nail. “I’m sorry for what happened to them.”


	16. Retrieval

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The king goes to retrieve his trusted diplomat after some distressing news.

The king had received news about one of his court members, Aliam from a few anonymous letters as well as Ben, and had been informed that he needed to check on him.  
Apparently Aliam had been cocooned and after emerging couldn’t walk or get up. So, the king set out to retrieve him. Normally, he would have sent a servant to retrieve him, but this was something he wanted to witness with his own eyes.

It may have taken an hour or so, curse him for making this palace so large. But finally he arrived to the corridor that contained all the rooms for his court. He would have to check on that so-called infected member later.  
The king removed the seal that had been placed over the door, and looking down he saw what he believed was Aliam.  
Certainly much longer, much much longer. On the floor, he laid, body covered in an orange carapace with only small amounts of his old skin on his upper body.

“Aliam, are you alright?” The king asked, before picking him up, slowly.

Aliam winded himself around his shoulders before answering, “Never been better.” smiling slightly.

The king turned and left the room, “Well, I’ll need to run some tests on you and figure out how we can get you moving again.”


	17. Clipped Wings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fic for the bigbugsa-au
> 
> Chapter 1

After Aliam had winded himself around the shoulders of the king of Hallownest, they had begun to move down the hall. While he wasn’t sure what ‘tests’ the king had in store for him, he was sure that they couldn’t be that bad.  
They reached one of the smaller rooms in the palace, and he was set down on a table, while the king continued to stand.

“Before I start teaching you how to move in your new body, I need to ask you a few questions.”  
Aliam looked up, before answering,

“Of course, Your Highness.” Aliam quickly curled up once more and focused on the king.  
The Pale King paced the room for a short time, before coming up with his first question,

“Have you had any feelings of, precognition? Feelings of unease, or something else?” The king stared him directly in the face.

Aliam, slightly confused about why this was asked, “Not really, at least I would say. Lately I’ve been having something I would classify as nightmares, but they seem so, so, real. In each one, it seems like someone had been cutting me open, stabbing me with needles and the like.” He took a quick breath before continuing, “It probably seems ridiculous to someone like you, Your Grace.”

The king looks at him, before producing a piece of parchment and taking a quick note, “It’s quite alright, onto the next question. What was it like in your cocoon? Given you made quite a drastic change, I’d assume your experience was different than Ben’s.”

Pondering, for a bit before answering, “It was tiring, if I’m being honest. I didn’t start working on it immediately, like others would’ve. The cocoon itself was quite large, possibly instincts knowing what changes would occur and preparing better than I would’ve if I was conscious.” He takes another quick break, feeling slightly nauseous. “I didn’t look like this when I emerged, though. I was quite a bit smaller, still bigger than before, but more, grub-like as I would put it.”

The king took another note, before asking the next question, “Have you felt strangely after emerging? Stronger, a better connection to magic, anything of that sort.” The king continued to scrawl onto the paper, muttering under his breath. “Take your time.”

“I can’t say I’ve really felt any stronger, though it has been only a few days, perhaps that will change later. I have felt a better connection to using the magic you’ve taught me, it’s just a bit harder to control without enough energy.” These questions were beginning to make him uneasy, surely the king was just worried about him, right?

“And for the last few questions. Do you know how tough your new carapace is? Were you injured when you emerged? Did you have any issues with your legs asides from being unable to balance?” The king scribbled a few more notes on the parchment, before looking up.

“I can’t really say how tough it is, I wasn’t injured when I fell. Despite falling from a decent height I held onto the edge long enough to lower myself down enough to where I might’ve been bruised a small bit. My legs feel weaker, but I’m chalking that up to the new size of my body and not moving very much.”   
These questions were getting worrying, why would the king care about how strong his new carapace was? Perhaps he had an idea of what he was, the king wouldn’t do anything to hurt him, right?

“Aliam, can you give me a measure of how loyal you are? We both know how loyal your colleague is, but how about you?” The Wyrm had set down the parchment and quill, staring him directly in the eye.

“I, well. I would say I’m quite loyal. Not to the extent of Ben, not overbearingly, at least. I wouldn’t betray you, I can confirm that.” Aliam looks around the room nervously, staring at the window behind the king, before looking at the door, which he now noticed had been sealed with one of the new prototype seals for the temple.

“Finally, how much do you trust me?” The king didn’t look away, staring right into his soul.

“I trust you with my life, Your Highness.” Aliam was truly concerned now, the palace he had lived in during his time here didn’t feel safe anymore. He stayed because he though the king would protect him, but that notion faded away the more time that he spent in this cramped room.

“I believe we are done here, but we need a larger room in order to teach you how to move with your new body. Come here.” The king reached out with his hand, nudging Aliam forwards to climb onto him. He did as motioned, and climbed back over his shoulders.


	18. Clipped Wings Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2

The walk was longer than expected, but took less time than the walk from his room. Finally, they reached what looked to be an old door, worn and weathered by time.

“Here we are. This room should be of suitable size for you to move around in. Take some time and look around.” Slowly, the king unstrung Aliam from around his shoulders, setting him down on the floor.  
He took in his surroundings, chains covered the walls bearing shackles, and what looked to be a smaller set, a perfect fit for humans. The walls held many, tools, blades that could cut fog, hammers, needles, and scalpels of all sizes.

The smaller shackles looked to have been used recently, unlocked and thrown across the floor. Along with a dripping, black substance.   
He realized what this room was, this was the king’s workshop. Aliam remembers the voidling being taken around the palace by the king, one the floor was some kind of, severed hand? The edge was littered with bite marks. Almost as if the king had chained them there and to escape they chewed it off.

“Your Highness, I-I appreciate the concern. But I think I’ll need to take some time to myself. If you’ll excuse me, sir.” With that Aliam turned and tried to run off, or well, crawl would be a better term.  
Of course, without knowing how to move, it wasn’t hard for the king to grab him. The king gripped him around his torso, so tightly that it was constricting, like heavy chains that kept him down. Unconsciously, he bit the king, perhaps some kind of instinct.

The king laughed, it didn’t even crack his carapace.

“I don’t believe you’ll be going anywhere, Aliam. You see, you’re quite unique, compared to the other buglings. I’m sure by now you’ve noticed the similarities between our looks. Which means that you know by now what you are.” The king stared him down, before setting him onto the table and picking up a small, clean set of shackles.  
Chains rattle as the king attaches them to the table, effectively preventing Aliam from moving anymore.

“I will be back in a few minutes. I need to prepare your new ‘room’.” The king looks over his shoulder before leaving and sealing the door.  
It could’ve been anywhere from a few minutes to several hours. The complete silence in the room started to get to him, he couldn’t even hear the steps of the servants that were surely outside in the halls.

And then, finally, the king returned. He didn’t speak as his undid those shackles, and held Aliam around his torso and lower body. His legs were pressed uncomfortably to his sides. He realized that he was powerless to do anything, even if he was some kind of wyrm. The king had more experience and was bigger than he was.

So, eventually he stopped struggling, laying limp in the kings hands. Strangely, there were no servants, or guards wandering the halls, at least none that he could hear footsteps for.  
Eventually, they reached another door, far away from all other rooms.

“You have a roommate. Be warned, they don’t talk very much.” That was the last thing the king said before throwing him into the small room. The floor was covered in the same black substances as the lab, and a figure was huddled in the corner, away from the light in the hallway.  
The door was closed, and Aliam curled himself up in the corner opposite of the other person. Familiar, perhaps it was the voidling he retrieved, it would explain the dark room.


	19. Clipped Wings Pt. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings:  
> Dissection, Surgery without Anaesthesia

The king had left Aliam strapped to the table in his workshop, and left for the palace stag station. It didn’t take long for the stag to arrive, and he ordered it to take him to Dirtmouth.  
He had heard that the small town had an accident involving the voidling still at the palace, and that someone had retrieved a reputable doctor from Deepnest. If this doctor was as good as they said they were, they’d be able to help him with the experiments involving him.

After a short amount of time he arrived in the town, and walked into a nearby cartographers shop. It wasn’t surprising to see the look of shock on their faces. “Excuse me, I was told that there was a doctor in town? I need to speak with them for a matter most urgent.” The king spoke calmly, which he gathered unnerved the other two.

“Oh! Of course, follow me.” The taller of the pair exited the building, motioning him to one of the larger houses in the town with the lights visible.  
The king was silent as they walked, eventually being motioned in by the shopkeeper.  
“She should be in there, we’ve had a few incidents recently so she may be working with them.” They turned around before heading back into their shop, shooting glances over their shoulder at him.

The Wyrm walks into the house, observing the doctor taking care of her patients, one larger bug sat on the bed, bandaged.  
He couldn’t see the other patient, but there was another bug hovering over her shoulder, whispering questions about what she was doing.

“Is there something you need?” The doctor asked him, not looking up from their current task, uncorking a vial and pouring it out onto something.

“You need to come with me, I have a matter that is most urgent.” The king spoke, observing the other bugs in the room who had been staring at him since he had entered the home. “One of the humans I have been taking care of ‘cocooned’ recently, so to speak. They have a crack on their carapace that hasn’t been healing in the few days they’ve been out.”

"Cocooned..?" The doctor turned around, realizing who she’d been speaking to, before continuing, "I'm fairly certain humans don’t cocoon the same way a grub would- are you certain..? She quickly turned around finishing up what she had been doing before returning to face him. "Besides, I’m likely no match for one of your court doctors- why ask me for help?"

“My court members did not require a doctor until recently, and as I’ve heard that you were in Dirtmouth, I came here to retrieve you for some assistance.” The king looked the other directly in the eye, “We need to go, now. I am not sure why their carapace isn’t healing, but it can’t be any good.”

"I apologize, your highness, but I cant leave to take a look personally. A cracked carapace may be cause for concern, but the way you described it, it is most certainly not life threatening. I have two patients here that are in far more need of help." The doctor dug through their bag, before retrieving a small vial of diluted acid. "If you apply this carefully to the surface of the carapace and push it together, then bandage it, the crack should seal. I'm sure one such as yourself would have no problem doing something so simple."  
The doctor turns back to the human they were currently looking over, “Now if you would please leave, I need to focus on saving this young one's life."

The king looks at her blankly, taking the vial but not moving from his spot, “While it will be useful, I am afraid that you will need to come with me. I am not above destroying that pitiful creature, as far as I’m concerned, they’re already dead.” He took a few steps forward, causing the doctor to stiffen as she stood in front of the dish. “Get your things and follow me.”

The other patient, began to stand up, before being gently pushed back down by the doctor, “It’s fine, don’t do anything that could leave you hurt more than you already are.” After reassuring that they’d be fine, they addressed the other bug, “Oro, watch over the human.” she dug through her bag and pulled out several vials of blue liquid before handing it to the other. “Every few hours make sure to refill the container, and don’t be afraid to use all of it.”

They slung their bag over their shoulder before speaking once more, “If they die, it’s not your fault. It’s mine.” While they spoke, they glared at the king,, likely for disturbing their work.

“Perfect, lets go.” The king motioned for them to head out first, before following behind them and entering the stag station.  
It was a long trip back, silent save for the running of their ride. After some time, they arrived back at the palace, while the king led them into the room where they’d be working.

“Wait here, I need to retrieve the human.” He closed the door and locked it with a seal, before walking down to the room containing Aliam and the voidling.

Surprisingly, nothing had happened in the time he was gone, with both sitting in opposite corners. He doesn’t say anything as he scoops Aliam up and carries him into the room. Aliam didn’t struggle anymore, it seems that it was quite easy to break his own will, perhaps he felt betrayed. But that didn’t matter to the king.

He walked faster than usual, ready to begin the experiments with his subject. He knew that the doctor would be suspicious upon seeing no cracks in its carapace, but it was a minor detail that could be fixed within seconds. He debated causing the injury himself, but that would likely make the doctor too suspicious.  
He reenters the room, sealing it behind him, and chaining it down onto the table, before snatching a scalpel off the wall. He handed it to the doctor before pointing at the creature on the table. “I need you to cut its stomach open. I don’t have the precision to work on it, but I need to observe its pain tolerance and natural healing.”

The doctor looked at him, before reaching into her bag to grab some numbing cream, before being interrupted by the king “That won’t be needed, I need to test everything, and with that I will miss important results.”

She looked at him is disbelief, “Are you sure? I’m not a fan of causing unnecessary pain, especially to humans.” still holding the vial, hesitating on putting it back.

The king looked at her, before taking the bag and setting it down into a corner, “I am absolutely certain, you won’t be needing anything in this bag, as I have everything prepared. Now, let’s begin.” He walked back over to the table, making sure that the shackles were on tight, and tying its legs together. He motions the doctor over to begin.

It wasn’t pleasant for her, given how this operation was completely unneeded, but she wasn’t going to risk her life by refusing. There were so many people in the kingdom that would need her help.  
So, slowly she lowered the scalpel, just below their abdomen, and sliced cleanly and carefully. She winced as they screamed, loud and shrill. But she kept working, until she could see their organs. She wasn’t able to tell what anything was, the biology similar to bugs, but so different. Perhaps it had something to do with what they had become.

“Excellent, while I have noted that its pain tolerance isn’t particularly high, if that screaming and crying was any indicator, it seems to be quite soft compared to the rest of its carapace.” The king handed her a roll of bandages “Bandage it up, we will be back shortly to observe its healing process. I will have one of the servants show you to your room during your stay.”

The king left the room while she carefully wrapped the silk bandage around them, being as careful as possible. They hissed loudly, struggling in their chains, before eventually stopping, drained of all energy. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to do this, but I have to.” 

She was eventually greeted by two of the palace servants, and watched as one unlocked the humans shackles and carried it off somewhere, before following the other to one of the many spare rooms.  
She worried for the patients she had left in the town, the elderly bug would be fine, so long as he didn’t do anything overly taxing. But the human, left in the care of the Nailmaster, hopefully they’d be fine.

Her new patient, she knew wouldn’t fair well. The king seemed to have faith that they were much stronger than any other human in the kingdom, and perhaps it was true. But it was cruel to cut them open like that, no pain killers or something to ease the damage, and then just leave them bandaged up without any proper care.


	20. Clipped Wings Pt. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings:  
> Dissection, Surgery without Anaesthesia

Cyfre didn’t feel right about leaving the human to heal by themselves without even cleaning the cut they’d made, as she walked behind the two servants, after being shown her room, she quietly followed the other one to a small room where they opened the door and tossed the human in.  
She winced as they hit the floor, before hiding from the servant behind the many shrubs that lined the palace corridors. She ducked into the room after they left, noticing that they had curled into a corner.

There was another, in the opposite corner, but it didn’t seem to react to her entering. She went over to the other corner, setting her bag down and gently moving them. “I am so, so sorry for earlier today. I didn’t want to do that, but trust me, I want to help you.” She gently applied a painkilling salve to the area around the wound, looking towards the door when the human hissed at the cold.

After she was sure that they couldn’t feel anything, she began to clean the wound, it would be cruel to let it sit uncleaned, at risk for infection. She pulled some clean bandages out of her bag to replace the old ones. “I’m sorry I had to do that earlier, but I hope this will at least make you feel better.”

Cyfre ducked out of the cell, before heading back to her own room and throwing away the old bandages. She couldn’t but worry about the tests to come .

It was a week or two before the king called her back for the next test. Hopefully they had been able to heal in the short amount of time they were given to recover.

The king grew tired of fetching the creature himself, and trying to prepare the lab while holding it, so while he passed by a servant, he told them to retrieve it. He waited in the room, cleaning the tools and setting up everything he’d need today.  
The doctor was the first to arrive, standing out of the way near the corner of the room. Soon after came the servant, holding that pathetic, struggling creature. He took it from their arms before dismissing them. Getting it onto the table was march harder this time, it struggled until the king dropped it.

The creature hissed in pain, before fluttering it’s wings, making a desperate attempt at escape through the door which was slightly ajar.  
It didn’t make a difference, it wasn’t strong enough to push it open itself, despite being able to get fairly high into the air. The king grabbed it by it’s torso once more, and chained it down onto the table, wings still flare out and flapping wildly.

After he made sure that the bindings were secure, he headed over to one of the many tables lining the wall, grabbing a small but sharp scalpel and handing it to the doctor. “I want you to slice those wings of it. They are a liability to these tests, and will certainly make this much more difficult on us.”

The doctor didn’t speak, walking over to the table. She watched it struggle until it ran out of energy, and its wings stopped flapping. Picking up the scalpel, she sliced the lower portions of its wings to ribbons. It wailed, tears streaming down its face, the king had never seen such reaction of anyone having their wings injured.

“Fantastic, we’re done with that part. I will be taking care of this step, you may want to observe this.” The king summoned several daggers made of SOUL, before taking one down to its stomach. Driving it into the hard carapace, shoving more in until it cracked enough to expose the organs inside. “I’ll leave this part up to you. I want you to remove the broken bits of carapace, and then study the organs in its human half.”

Cyfre picked a small pair of forceps off of a nearby table, before getting to work. It took time to pull out each individual shard, and she winced every time her actions caused the human to shriek and try moving in their restraints.  
An hour or so later, she had removed enough of the carapace shards so that their organs were visible. She moved off to the side while the king moved forward to prod at the humans innards. He was careful, at least, and she assumed that the king thought this human to be valuable, and wouldn’t risk them by being reckless.

The king took notes as he worked, writing down interesting details and drawing diagrams of it’s anatomy to complete the sketches done the previous week. Before long, he had finished his study, “I want you to use that solution you gave me to heal its carapace. It’ll need to be fully healed for our next set of tests.” He handed her the vial before leaving the room.

She didn’t have the same salve that she used the last time, and winced as she needed to apply more to the cracked carapace before she could bandage it up. They screamed and howled, crying tears of pain.  
She was so focused on doing this as fast and safely as possible that she didn’t notice the servant waiting for her to finish her work. She looked at them as she wrapped the last bit of the bandage around the wound, before sealing it with a bit of web.

She heard them pick up the human as she walked back to her room, and since she was given the opportunity to properly treat them, there was no reason for her to come visit them to help.


	21. Clipped Wings Pt. 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings:  
> Unnecessary Injury, Blood,

Aliam had been left to heal for a few days, and thankfully it didn’t take as long due to the methods the doctor had used.  
That didn’t mean he wasn’t upset with her, so to say. He may have been loyal to the king originally but he’s learned that the king gets stuck in his old ways, replicating tests over and over even if it fails every time.

He mostly just stayed within the corner he had designated as his own, sometimes trying to maneuver around the room while avoiding the stationary voidling in the other corner. He still wasn’t sure how he was supposed to walk around, but he figured that with enough practice, he’d learn.

And then he could try and make his escape, his wings may be ruined but he could still certainly try and teach himself to walk, no matter how long it took to learn and get the hang of. If he could just study the king, he’d learn how he was supposed to move, they shared very similar body types, and all it would take is a day or so of observing to memorize it for practice.  
If he could snag a piece of parchment and some ink, he’d be able to take notes on it.

He heard the door open while he contemplated, realizing that whoever opened it came to fetch him for more of the king’s wretched experiments.  
It wasn’t as if Aliam had been oblivious to the cruelty the king had the capacity for, it was just unexpected and shocking for it to be turned on him.

They picked him up, not as harshly as the king did, but certainly not carefully. He didn’t blame them, the king could be harsh when it came to not being fast enough for his liking. The servant carried him swiftly to the room that he dreaded visiting each day, the doctor and king already inside.

He was placed down onto the table and chained down once more. There wasn’t any struggling on his end anymore, it never had positive results for him. And even if he did, the king surely had his reasons for doing this, he had to still care about him, right? After this was all said and done everything would return to normal, and while he may not be the same person afterwards, he’d be able to continue with his job.

Today was no different than the previous test, having his back poked by the many tools until they pierced, shattering the carapace. Aliam screamed and cried, it wasn’t pleasant for him and anyone else involved.

At least this time he wasn’t being cut open and left to bleed, but it didn’t make it any better. The doctor didn’t manage to get very far into the test before being stopped by something. He could feel them trying to keep poking the dagger into his back, but being deflected by something.

The king spoke as he observed the situation, “How interesting. I do believe that after all these tests we’ve discovered out first defense mechanism, so to speak. A strange one, but still, hidden spines under the carapace is fascinating, especially when they seem to deflect all current tools we have.” The king scrawled notes of the various tests that were then performed.

They tried nearly all of the tools in the room, until Aliam heard the king summon those same daggers he was taught to use. While he now knew that he was safe from material things while his spines were visible, he wasn’t so sure if that would apply to weapons made from, other means.

He screamed louder than he ever had before. These daggers pierced much deeper and didn’t even take a second try to shatter the carapace on his back.  
Not even his spines were able to deflect it. The pain was searing, tears streaming down his face as he wailed and sobbed, the pieces of his carapace stuck in his wounds made it even worse, he couldn’t even move the slightest bit without crying harder.

The king noted every reaction, and realized that its couldn’t feel anything in those spines, unless... He grabbed one of the many spines lining its back, and pulled.

The spine tore from Aliam’s back, his screams had started to die down after he had stopped moving, but came back in full force. He felt the cracks form after his spine was torn out, and blood gushing from the wound and running down his back.

He could hear the scribbling once more, before feeling another scalpel prod the area where one of his spines used to be. Thankfully, the king saw no reason to drive it any further into him, so he steeled himself against the pain as the carapace was pushed around and jabbed at.

Eventually, the king had finished all his tests for the day, and left the doctor to heal his wounds. He could hear her speaking to him, but wasn’t able to respond, drained of energy and mind hazy.

He didn’t even have the energy to scream, voice hoarse and near silent, as he felt the same acid solution being poured on his back, before his carapace was pushed back together. Thankfully, he only needed to deal with the movement of being bandaged back up.

The doctor tried talking to him as she bandaged the many wounds, but he was so close to exhaustion that he didn’t even notice being picked up and put back in his cell, until the light had vanished from around him.  
Aliam crawled into the corner again, and curled up as tightly as he could, in the vain hopes that it would prevent someone from being able to pick him up.

He had gotten so used to the dark in the cell, that the palace itself was almost painfully blinding to him now.


	22. Clipped Wings Pt. 6

It was so quiet in the cell, it had been weeks since he had last been taken out for testing. Perhaps the king was done and he’d be able to leave. It wasn’t that simple and he knew it, but it gave him some hope that all of this was over and done with.

At least Aliam had the chance to rest, after many sleepless nights. He took advantage of it when he realized that no one was coming to get him for testing. His wounds may not have healed fully but they weren’t as painful now.  
He was so bored, without anything to do in the cell he was stuck in. There was no paperwork for him to sort through, and nothing in the room asides from the large shackles that hung from the ceiling, and his ‘roommate’.

For now though, he just stretched around his corner of the room, awaiting the kings next test. He still hated them, but couldn’t bring himself to hate the king for his experiments. Of course it wasn’t long before the door opened. It wasn’t just the normal servant the king had begun using to retrieve him.

Instead, it was two of the kings guards, the kingsmoulds. And a surprise, the king himself. The guards picked him up before slamming the door, startling him. They walked swiftly, through the long corridors. They passed multiple servants, who stopped in their tracks to stare at them.   
It wasn’t uncommon to see the occasional guard patrolling the palace, but to have 2, and the king trailing behind them, was quite odd. Eventually they reached the palace grounds, but they didn’t stop there, continuing on in the basin.

Aliam didn’t realize where they were headed until it was too late. He struggled as much as he could, trying to get free. The area was much more open, and he could duck into one of the many nooks between the stone walls. But try as he might, the kingsmoulds were stronger than him.  
He struggled the entire way down, until the reached that familiar door, marked with the brand of the king.

They headed down to the bottom of the abyss, a place that Aliam had become accustomed to, the crunching of the various masks that laid on the ground echoing across the walls.

He knew what was going to happen to him, knew that it was inevitable. He didn’t want to lose his memories of his life before. He missed his brother so much, they shouldn’t have stayed in the palace for as long as they did.  
Before long tears were streaming down his face and he struggled even more, able to get one of the guards to loosen their grip, but it wasn’t enough to escape.

He tried to grab onto something, anything to keep him from that horrible fate. But the armor of the guards wasn’t brittle enough to dig his nails into.  
He couldn’t think as he flailed before sinking into the sea.

Cyfre was quite confused, for the past few weeks she hadn’t been summoned for any experiments, or even to check up on the human. There was commotion in the halls earlier, but she hadn’t been quick enough to catch what was going on.

She decided to seek out the king, he might be able to provide some clarity on what was going on. But first, out of curiosity she went to the room that held the two humans inside. She was somewhat surprised to see the one she’d been working with missing, perhaps the king wanted to get an early start, and she hoped that was true.

She walked quickly down the hall, avoiding the servants until she reached the door to the kings lab. Unsurprisingly, the king was sitting at one of the many tables, writing something down. However, there was no sign of the human, that they had even been in here.

The king looked up from his notes, hearing the creaking of the door, “Ah, did you need something doctor? I realize that this has probably been a longer break between tests than you were used to.”

The doctor straightened up, she wasn’t sure if she was going to like the answer to her questions, “Well, I was wondering where the human was. I don’t see them in here, and none of the servants could tell me if they had come in for tests.”

The king paused, setting down the quill he was using, “That human.. I needed it for a test you were not informed about, as it didn’t involve anything medical.” The king sighed, tapping his claws on the table, “If you truly want to know where it is, I had the kingsmoulds take the human down to the abyss. I wanted to see what would happen if I exposed a human like that to the void. For now, we wait until it decides to crawl out of that sea.”

Cyfre had heard about the former experiments of the kings that involved the abyss, but she was shocked that he’d expose someone whose wound’s weren’t even fully healed. “How could you? You would just throw someone away like that, I can’t believe you.” She sneered at him, before returning her expression to normal.

The king seemingly unfazed by her small outburst, “This was a much needed test know that it is upsetting for such a valuable experiment to be ‘thrown away’ like that, but trust me, it needed to be done.”

Cyfre had relaxed a bit, before beginning to pry for the location of the abyss, “Well then, might I ask where the abyss is located? It would be beneficial if I could observe first hand the physical and mental changes that the location causes.” If she could get this vital piece of information, perhaps she’d be able to get both of them out of here.

The king looked to be somewhat conflicted before speaking, “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to tell you, it’s not like you’d be able to betray me in the first place. You’ll need to head down from the palace grounds. You’ll know when you’ve reached the door as I branded it quite some time ago.” The king returned to his writing, “You are dismissed for now, until the human comes back. You will still need to stay within the palace, in case we ave any incidents that occur here.”

With that, the doctor turned around and left, heading back to her room to reconfigure her original plans for escape.

It was so dark here. Aliam couldn’t see anything in front of him, sometimes he’d catch ripples from above him. After some time, he figured out how to get around within the sea, swimming and exploring. He could feel his mind slipping away, memories old and new, even his own name, fading away.  
The dark water eventually loosened the bandages that had wrapped tightly around him, all he could feel was the chill of the water, seeping into the wound. He didn’t have the capacity to care anymore.

Sometimes, he’d catch some of the tatters of his mind, this place was so familiar to him. But as soon as he tried to remember more, they slipped from his grasp. He could feel his body changing, eventually, even the cold couldn’t get to him.  
The wounds on their back didn’t hurt anymore, didn’t bleed. Sure, it stung at first, but after spending some time here, it didn’t phase them.

It was so dark. But something called them out of the sea and onto the mountain of masks from former beings. They didn’t think, and only acted on what felt natural to them. Slowly, but surely they began to move, standing up and wobbling.  
After some time, they were able to fully stand on all of their legs, and began to walk. They stumbled at first, legs twisting at strange angles, but they managed to walk further than the shore, before returning to the sea.

Time after time, they were pulled back to the shore, and continued learning. Eventually, they were able to make the smooth between swimming and walking, and then, they looked up to the platforms that rose high above them. Their wings were tattered, they couldn’t lift themselves to even reach the first platform.

So, they began to build, dragging each massive mask behind them, until they built a tower they could climb. They made it to the first platform, the tower crumbling behind them as they leaped onto it. The next ones were much easier, and they were able to stand up on their back legs and latch onto the bottom half as they pulled themselves up.  
This repeated for some time, the larger platforms making this quite difficult.

When they reached the top, it was too far for them to continue normally. So they coiled up, and sprang, managing to sink their front legs into the soft earth above the stone. They scrabbled and scratched, until the could be themselves up.

They were so drained, but they managed to drag themselves to the door. Luckily, they didn’t have to walk for very long, something picked them up, and started walking. It took them to a blindingly bright place, making them hiss and recoil, curling into themselves.

They kept their eye shut as they were carried within the building, before being dropped onto a table, they passed out before they could take a look at their surroundings.


	23. Curse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Wyrm finds a more efficient way to contain the voidlings.

The king had been toiling over his notes these past few months, mostly on the effects of void on humans. He’d been successful in his work, but trying to complete his everyday tasks while taking care of the three voidlings in his grasp began to make it harder on him.

He’d thought of many ways to remedy this, send them back into the abyss, but that risked them communicating and possibly the loss of his perfect vessel. Perhaps he could hand them over to someone else, that risked the possibility that they would find out what he had done, and leave the kingdom.

It eventually came down to a few choices, throw them back into that pitch black sea. Or perhaps, just maybe this would work, bring them outside the kingdom. A barren wasteland where the lost forget themselves the longer they stay away from his power. He already knew that the curse of his kingdom affected humans, some of his court members had mentioned gaps in their memories upon arriving in Hallownest.

He knew what had to be done, he’d take a kingsmould or two and bring them to the wastelands. He’d need to be careful, while the rest of the kingdom slept, he’d execute his plan.

Slowly, he figured out ways to get them out of the kingdom, through the entrance would be the most plausible option, but who’s to say that no one would spot him leaving? So, he’d do it when the lanterns in the crossroads went out. He needed to keep them separate, so he’d hand one to each kingsmould, and then split them up, far away so they’d never meet.

And then, after a week he’d go and retrieve them, hopefully his thrall and sunk deep enough into their minds already to call them back to the entrance of the kingdom.

A week after the last experiments he had done on his latest voidlings, he placed them in one of the many containers he had for living beings. A reinforced cage meant for the voidlings exclusively, and began his walk to the gates, guards in tow. It didn’t take him long to make the trip, the lifts going from the palace grounds into the city, and then to the crossroads only took him an hour.

He’d need to move faster, lest his experiments get too rowdy, they were already slamming their hands into the glass to no avail. So, he ran, up and up platforms and stairs until he reached the tiny village. He walked quickly past the building the doctor had taken their patients into, before he made it into the cliffs.

The king slowed down once he reached them, little to no bugs lived in the harsh conditions the cliffs brought, so he didn’t need to worry. Eventually they had walked so far to where even the familiar glow of the lumaflies weren’t visible through the heavy fog layering the ground.

Slowly setting the cage down, he retrieved one, and left it to his guards to take the others. The king may have needed to travel far, but that hardly mattered enough to him. So he kept walking, eventually taking to the skies to find the perfect place to leave them. On a ledge not that far off from the ground, he sets them down.

They hiss and growl at him, odd noises that he wouldn’t expect any proper citizen to make, but that didn’t matter now. In a matter of time they’d forget who they were. So, he started the long flight back to the gates, it didn’t matter if his kingsmoulds were lost, they’d either find their way back or die. They were disposable, something he could replace with no difficulties.

After a few hours, he managed to return to the gates of his kingdom, outside stood one kingsmould, the other missing. He unsealed the gates, walking through with his guard, before closing them again. He commanded them to stay waiting in the pass to retrieve the voidlings once they’ve reached Hallownest again. Then, he began the walk back to the palace, after all, he had more important things do be doing.

It was so cold, and the silence of this place was unbearable. There was no one around, just the howling winds that threatened to knock them off their feet and carry them away. Yet somehow, they couldn’t remember how they got here, surely they had come here for a reason.

They just couldn’t recall why, mind devoid of memories. All they knew was something was pulling them forward, so they carried on their path. They would only stop when they couldn’t walk anymore, legs about to crumble beneath them. But they were so close, they could feel it, something comforting awaited them when they arrived to where they were headed.

Slowly but surely, they walked on, and eventually they started to see signs of life. Large, bird-like creatures flew above, gliding on the strong winds of the area. It was difficult to get where they needed, scraping and tearing their hands on the rough stones of the cliff-side. The pull was stronger now tugging at them no matter how much they wanted to stop and rest. They ran, avoiding the larger creatures that walked along the stones, sometimes using them to haul themselves up ledges. They had to be more careful when the drops got steeper as they got closer.

They finally arrived to what seemed to be the source of that pull, and standing at the entrance was two others. They weren’t sure why, but for some reason they felt a feeling of kinship towards them, and they ran up to them. They weren’t quite sure what the others felt exactly, but they swore they could see them go through the same thoughts that lead to that same feeling.

One of them turned to peer into the gate entrance, into the caldera that ended thousands of feet below them. They were distracted by the groaning of chains as they moved, heaving something up the side. A large figure stood in the lift, who donned white armor adorned with spikes.

Within the next few seconds, they had all been picked up, squirming and trying to get away. Their hold didn’t let up, and they marched quickly into a building. Ringing a bell, a large, saddled creature sprinted into the building from a tunnel in the side of the wall. They were dropped into a bag that rested on its side, before climbing onto its back and given it an order to move.

It was dizzying, they moved so fast through various different tunnels, sometimes coming to abrupt stops to let another pass by. But eventually they stopped in a dull, grey building. Once more they were picked back up and carried into a large, shining white building.

It was too bright, and they tried to curl into themselves to shield their eyes at the very least. It didn’t help much, it still hurt no matter how much they tried to hide. The three were all eventually sat down on the floor, in front of a large throne, a pale figure resting upon it.

They stood up, before stopping just in front of them, and lifting them up. “Greetings. I’d like to know what brought you here, to my palace. After all, it’s not everyday we have human visitors.”

They tried to speak, but as they tried, their words came out jumbled. Even if they could get out a coherent sentence, their voice crackled, almost like static, making it near impossible to hear anything.

The being looked at them, “Well, I suppose I must introduce myself. I am the Pale King, ruler of this kingdom, Hallownest. My guard brought you here, did you wander in through that gate?” He looked at them expectantly, before realizing that they wouldn’t speak to him, “Well, if you cannot speak, I will do the talking for you.”

He sat them back down on the arm of the throne, before calling over a servant to stand by him. “I offer you protection from the creatures outside, I’m sure you saw them when you arrived. Quite dangerous for ones your size. But, I can teach you how to defend yourself. All I ask for in return is for you to join my court, pledge your loyalty to me. A small price to pay.”

Slowly, after looking amongst themselves, seeing how the others would react. They each nodded, one by one.

“The deal has been made then.” He handed them over to the servant before speaking once more, “They will show you to your rooms, I will have new clothes delivered to you soon.”


End file.
